Looking at sailboat listings it would seem as though it may take years! There are boats on there, many boats, listed years ago still being offered for sale.
Were they sold but the owner forgot to remove the listing?
Were they overpriced?
Some other reason?
Or does it generally take months, many many months to sell a boat?

Looking at sailboat listings it would seem as though it may take years! There are boats on there, many boats, listed years ago still being offered for sale.
Were they sold but the owner forgot to remove the listing?
Were they overpriced?
Some other reason?
Or does it generally take months, many many months to sell a boat?

A lot of these old listings on SL are not active and have not been removed, but I know several active listings where the boat has been on a market for more then 2 years. These tend to be boats which are 'overpriced' in today's very soft market. Some of these boats are priced fairly, but if there is little demand for that type of boat, they don't sell. If you need to sell a boat quickly, the only way is to attract buyers with a low price. Still, it may take several months before it is sold.

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Re: Time to Sell a Boat

I'm curious, what r u looking at? just dreaming? I watched yachtworld for 2 years. You'll see all kinds of weird stuff there. Same boat listed in two different countries.. with 4 different brokers. It was interesting to say the least. Many of the same boats were listed for the whole 2 years I watched. What I learned was, if it was a boat in decent shape, it was gone, price wasn't that much of an issue on a boat that was well cared for. Boats that were priced low, if they were junk, which you learn is about every boat that has a lower than average price, they were slow to sell.

As to the listings on Sailboatlistings, yes many of them have sold, just have not been removed. Call, find out and I think there is an option to report the boat having been sold. Even on the classifieds here on sailnet, it is not easy to figure out how to remove. I was interested in one boat, it sold and I notified a moderator and she had it removed. That is one advantage of Craigslist ads, they expire. But if the listing is old and has not sold then yes the price is too high. Simple law of supply and demand, lots of older boats available and not so many folks buying them. I see many boats listed on there for more than twice what they are worth, and have been up for years.

Other boats, are just not so popular, so they may not sell quickly. Really depends, but generally they will sell once the price matches the demand. Just may be lower than one is willing to sell for.

I've sold 2 boats in the last 3 years... Listed with Sailboatlistings, craigslist, the association websites, never used a broker to sell (they were small inexpensive boats)...

My Capri 22 sold in about 3 hours. Was listed for about $1000 more than I bought it for, and before my listing even showed on sailboatlistings... the association basically sold the boat for me.

My Capri 25, which has a reputation (which I personally think is unwarranted) for being a poorly built boat, and not built to the hype of being competitive with a J/24. It took me almost 10 months to sell. My Capri 25 was in way better shape than my Capri 22...

By the way I advertised that I'd deliver both boats within 500 miles (for the cost of fuel)! Think about that a minute... It means I trust the trailer.

What it amounts to is the boat. If it's a popular model, it'll sell.

By the way the guy who bought my Capri 22, sold his Capri 18 in about 3 hours as well (also a very popular trailerable)... I think he sold it for what he bought my Capri 22 for.

YES people are bad about removing boats from craigslist, and sailboatlistings. But honestly a lot don't get removed because the boats don't sell.

The boats that seem to sit the longest are the ones that are odd models, that weren't real popular.

Looking at sailboat listings it would seem as though it may take years! There are boats on there, many boats, listed years ago still being offered for sale.
Were they sold but the owner forgot to remove the listing?
Were they overpriced?
Some other reason?
Or does it generally take months, many many months to sell a boat?

A boat is a complete pleasure free time item, and an expensive one at that. So...not much demand.

A few general observations:
The smaller the boat the faster it sells
The cheaper the boat the faster is sells
If the owner REALLY wants to sell, the boat sells (because the price drops)
There are lots of owners who aren't serious about selling
AND
There are lots of dumb people in the world (buyers AND sellers)

Since 2003 I have bought 4 boats and sold 3:
Catalina 22 - sold in about 2 weeks (in 2004).
Newport 28 - listed it in November of 2006, sold in May of 2007
O'day 35 - listed in September of 2013, sold it July of 2014

In each case I think the new owner did well and I did OK too. What I found funny about selling my O'day was that I first listed it at $32K. In the spring I started dropping my price -first $30, then $28. Eventually I had it on SailingTexas for $25,500 and I just wasn't going to go any lower. I got a call from a local guy who came by and we looked the boat over. After 2 hours he said "I'll take it" and wrote me a deposit on the spot. He told me later that he saw the ad for $25,500 and thought the boat must be junk because the price was too low! Anyway, all's well that ends well.

I sold my last boat in a month from 1st ad to sailing away. It was a 30' ocean cruiser pretty well ready to head out. I sold it for twice what I had in it and the new owner still got a good buy.

I use the local online ad forums - Craigs, Kijiji and Used(wherever). A well written, honest ad with good pictures is critical to getting a good response. Prompt responses to inquiries is crucial and you MUST be available to show it at the buyers convenience.

On the other hand, the previous boat I sold was an almost complete restoration of a 43' on the hard - that took over a year to sell because of the very limited market for that sort of boat/situation.

Realistic pricing is critical - there are a LOT of people out there who simply don't know what their boat is really worth - or aren't willing to face up to it.

I've asked people how they priced their boat and gotten answers like "I added up what I had put into it and then discounted that price". Completely unrealistic - a boat is only worth what comparable boats are selling for NOW. What you spent, what it was worth 5 years ago, what someone told you it should be worth etc. are all meaningless. Asking prices on the classified sites like CL aren't much better because they are all over the map. Finding out what boats have ACTUALLY SOLD FOR is the best method of pricing your boat.

I'm currently boat shopping and have seen a decent Peterson Ganbare asking $9K and a Buccaneer 240 also asking $9K.

Lastly, it seems like common sense but CLEAN IT UP - it's incredible the state people have their boats in while they try to sell them - turds in the toilet is not an urban myth.

I, myself, personally intend to continue being outspoken and opinionated, intolerant of all fanatics, fools and ignoramuses, deeply suspicious of all those who have "found the answer" and on my bad days, downright rude.

Wanted to confirm what's being said here. 3 of the 4 sold quickly. They were 22, 28, and 36 feet, priced well, I was upgrading so motivated, and they were kept exceptionally clean, and upgraded continuously.

Boat 4, was big, specialized, and took a couple of years to sell. Lots of varnish, lots of automation, and higher but market priced. The market gets smaller as the boat gets bigger. Also, it wasn't production, I think production boats sell easier as more people know about them.

On the buy side, so many boats you look at are trashed. Owners who are selling often have lost interest, and value deteriorates quickly without care. The cheapest part of boat ownership is buying it. Many people learn this the hard way, and end up selling. Adverts and pictures can be misleading. We believe in learning about the owner, before even taking a look if we can, and that a heavily used but well cared for boat, is a much better deal than something that's been rotting on the hard for a couple of years.

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